


Damsel in Distress

by whiim



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Fluff, Implied Relationship, Implied/Referenced Cheating, I’ve never written Nick before, Memories, Moving On, Nick knew SoSu pre-war, Non-Bostonian SoSu, One Shot, POV Canon Character, Pining, Will write more if it’s wanted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:56:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiim/pseuds/whiim
Summary: What if the old Nick had known the Sole Survivor before the war?What if she’d looked like Jenny?What if the new Nick had recognised her? And lingering feelings that had presumed been dead and buried resurfaced?
Relationships: Female Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine, Nick Valentine/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 35





	Damsel in Distress

Well Nicky, you’re not getting out of this one.

You’ve been down here for a week now, you’re the one who finds people but when it knuckles down to it there’s no one out there to come find you.

I do worry about poor Ellie, kid must be worried sick, but at least maybe now she’ll be able to move on and stop fretting about me and my paperwork. I probably shoulda listened to her, she tried telling me this whole thing was a trap but I couldn’t stand the thought of a damsel needing help and me leaving her with these thugs. 

I knew something would take me out eventually, the old Nick wasn’t immortal and despite this good ol’ plastic body, new Nick isn’t gonna live forever either. I just never figured it’d be… I don’t know, I always thought I’d have my own memories rather than just old Nick’s.

I got into this situation chasing after a dame, and Nick would be disappointed, she wasn’t even for me. Turns out Darla was Skinny Malone’s new broad. And she was good with a bat too. Times like this I was glad I didn’t feel pain as intense as the average Joe, as that was quite the swing she gave me. 

I should probably actually check my head is still in one piece, or well, not in more pieces than it was before at least. The window will have to do. I checked my reflection, there wasn’t a bad dent in my head, so maybe little Darla had just knocked a few springs free.

The next thing I knew was Skinny Malone’s right hand man standing obnoxiously close to the window. Peering at me through the glass. 

“Valentine? I’m about to go see Skinny Malone. Pretty sure he’s gonna tell me to take you out. Anything you got left to say?”

I opened my mouth to tell him to leave when I saw a flash of blue down on the lower level. A vault dweller? I wondered what had happened to the previous residents, but I’m surprised Skinny’s gang left any survivors. Oh she’s a broad too. She must’ve been getting something she’d left. Seemed like a bad idea to me, I definitely wouldn’t be coming back here if I ever managed to get awake from the Triggermen or whatever they were calling themselves now. 

I can see she’s lining up a shot now, a sniper rifle clutched in her delicate hands. Dino’s starting to move though. Even if she didn’t miss, there’s no way she’d get out of here alive on her own. If she’s coming this way maybe I can convince her to let me out, turn on that ol’ Valentine charm if I have to.

“Come on now, Valentine, how’s about a last meal? Feeling hungry? Want a snack?”

Nick you got two choices here. Help the broad and hopefully get out, or hope Skinny lets you live. Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be the latter. Think Nick, think 

“Keep talking, meat head. It'll give Skinny Malone more time to think about how he's going to bump you off.”

That got him there. That stupid grin on his face dropped immediately. Good on you Nick, you’ve done it again. I looked back to the broad. Swear I saw her smile as she moved to get a better shot.

“Don't give me that crap, Valentine. You know nothin'. You got nothin'.”

“Really? I saw him writing your name down in that black book of his.”

He wasn’t biting. The Vault girl rested her rifle against the metal bars. She was shaking. Obviously new to guns. They have a cushty life inside these sheltered prisons. She looked through the scope.

“Lousy cheating card shark" I think were his exact words. Then he struck the name across three times.”

“Three strikes? In the-“ 

But he never got to finish the sentence as a bullet burst through his head. Good shot vault dame. Even if you did take your sweet time with it. No. That was old Nicky talking, it was a damn good shot. 

And with that, the rifle went over her back. It was a marvel she could carry that thing, she looked all lithe and gentle. At least I was being able to solve one more mystery today, who in the hell this little rifle packing mama was. 

I tried to see her, maybe she was a friend of Ellie’s, but all I got a glance of was some blonde curls that I couldn’t help but imagine being tangled around that awful metal hand of mine. Here she was, my guardian angel with a crown halo of golden curls lit up by the obnoxious white lighting of the vault. 

Hold on, I think she’s busting me out of here. Good girl. The door slides open and I can feel the coolant pump harder around my body. 

Jenny?

No. She’s dead.

Looking closer at her I can see her blonde is more pale than Jenny’s was, and her eyes are a cold grey, as mysterious as the oceans. Instead of the warm pools of brown that Jenny’s had been.

But I knew her. She wasn’t Jenny but I knew her. 

Or at least maybe old Nick did.

“Mister Valentine? I hear you’re in the business of finding people.”

That’s where I knew her from. 

Sudden flashes of one of Nick’s memories played in my brain.

This woman. She’s wearing a black dress that comes in perfectly at her waist and flares back out at her hips. Her delicate hands that I’d just seen gripping a Sniper Rifle, were covered by silky white gloves, she smoothed down her skirts and lifted her head. The hat sat upon her head was at an angle that concealed some of the dark circles under her sad eyes. 

_“Mister Valentine? I hear you’re in the business of finding people.”_

She’s… pre-war? You solve one case Nick but here you are with another.

“I have to admire the irony of the damsel in distress scenario being turned on its head. But yes, I’m Nick Valentine, synth detective.”

“My son Shaun… he’s missing.”

_“It’s about my Husband. He hasn’t come home.”_

_Damn, she’s got a husband._

“He was kidnapped, but I don't know who took him, or where they went.”

“A missing kid, huh? Well, you came to the right man. If not the right place.”

Oh that laugh. How’d I ever forget that laugh, Nick? Or how’d you forget it in that case. She’d come around a while after Jenny’s murder, and I remembered how entranced Nick had been by her, and now I was feeling that same disappointment he’d felt when she’d asked him to help her find her husband.

Was that bad of me? Was it bad of me that now, more than ever, did I want to tangle those curls in my hand. Was it old Nick who wanted it? Or me? My memories of her past then start to get foggy. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. Given the circumstances. I haven’t had much to smile about recently.”

“Look at me here doll, I’m clearly not one to judge.” 

That smile. Atom forgive me for the way her smile makes me feel. I almost feel like I’m taking advantage of her, without even doing anything. I make my way out of the office, and she follows after me, staying close. She’s holding a pistol now, rifle still sling across her back, and I notice how white her knuckles are. She’s scared. Of course she is. This wasn’t a life she was born into.

I want to hold her. 

I don’t.

I want to ask her how the hell she’s still alive. If she’s really here.

If she’s really more than 200 years old.

Come on Nicky you should know it’s impolite to ask a woman her age.

Nick you’re better than this. And she’s better than you. The poor broad’s lost her baby, and isn’t even mentioning that bastard husband of hers. 

Old Nick thought he was a bastard anyway. Maybe he changed. In the short time we, uh, he found him before the bombs. 

I look over my shoulder, hoping to steal a glance of those bonny curls and those doe eyes. She catches me. Her face lights up with a smile. She doesn’t look at me like I’m some kind of synth monster. She doesn’t look through me. She looks _at_ me. 

That smile is for me. 

There’s nothing to smile about here. She’s giving _me_ that smile. 

I want to keep that smile on her face forever but a dame like her wouldn’t wanna be around a man like me. I feel her warm hand against my arm.

“Are you alright, Mister Valentine?” 

The way she says it shoots straight through me.

“Y’know you can just call me Nick right, doll?” 

That blush, and the gentle crooked smile. 

Well that’s one way to get the coolant pumping.

“I uh, well, _Nick_ , my question still stands.”

“Of course I’m alright, now let’s focus on getting you out of this vault, yeah?”

“Sounds like a plan Mister Valentine.” 

I chuckle and shake my head. She removes her hand and I swear to you old Nick, I barely stopped myself from putting it back. 

What sort of trouble is this dame gonna get you into here, Nick? 

I get her out of the Vault. She’s got a silver tongue between those shiny red lips I tell ya that. Convinces that broad I’ve been chasing to go home to her Daddy. Does a better job of it than I did too, she doesn’t end up with that bat in her pretty little head. 

Skinny isn’t happy about it. But he’s charmed by her too. He gives us ten seconds to get out of here. We wouldn’t survive that fight, she’s clearly still shaken from the Dino situation, and I couldn’t take on all those triggermen and still keep her alive. 

Nick you’ve done enough running, you’ll slow her down, tell her to get out of there, that you’ll hold them off. Tell her that Ellie can help her find her son if she just asks.

Wow Nick, something neither of us expected here. She slips that soft, un-gloved hand into mine. Tiny and warm, against that skeletal, metal, poor excuse for a hand. I see that smile cross her face, and a fire light up in her eyes, and she’s off. Dragging me along with her. 

The doll has the weight of the Commonwealth on her shoulders and here she is, risking her life to save yours. Nick, neither of us deserve this woman. I hear gunshots behind us, and she glances over her shoulder to look at me, pupils blown out.

Is she having fun?

The little adrenaline junkie.

I suppose if I were a housewife, devoid of anything but staying at home, a bit of adrenaline and some freedom would drive me wild too.

Freedom and a smile suit you well.

Is what I want to say. Instead it’s-

“Jesus, Vanessa are you crazy?” 

She’s laughing. We’re out and we’re safe. 

A look crosses her face.

You slipped up there didn’t ya Valentine?

She’s catching her breath. She straightens up, one of her eyebrow flicks up with her, and she smiles.

“Mister Valentine I don’t recall telling you my name.” 

“Yeah Doll it’s a long story.”

“And I suppose it has nothing to do with the Mister Valentine of my time?”

I promise to explain things when we’re back at the office. And I do so. What I don’t expect is how horrified she is to hear that ol’ Nicky scooped his brains out and handed them to some scientist because he was lonely. 

“My god. I’m so sorry. Was it my fault!?”

“I don’t know, doll, everything past there is kinda foggy.”

It was a joke, but she looks disturbed now. Her mouth agape. Well done Nicky, between you donating your brain to science and me blabbing about it we’ve given the poor girl more guilt than she can handle.

“Oh. Hey, Doll, it wasn’t your fault. The old Nick, he was a… complex man.”

“I remember. Mister Valentine said a lot of things to me. And then he found my husband. And then he vanished. I never heard from him again.”

Your biggest mistake Nick. Letting her go. 

At least sitting in front of me is something I could have that the old Nick never. 

“When I saw the sign I never thought you’d be him. I assumed you’d found some old files of the great Nick Valentine and borrowed his name.”

The corner of her mouth twitches. And a grin is formed with those glossy red lips. 

“Instead I find the great clockwork dick.” 

She’s joking. I humour her.

“It’s synth detective, jackass. If you’re going to poke fun at least get the make and model right.”

I’m surprised at how soft my own words come out. Not nearly as soft as her skin as I feel her hands covering mine. And there’s that smile. The smile that could’ve set off the damn atom bombs had she wanted them too. The smile that could make me shoot a random settler were I not a stronger man. 

Miss Vanessa, you are going to be dangerous in the Commonwealth.

Ellie comes back with drinks and she’s fussing about opening a file. I’m barely paying attention, which I feel bad for, but I just want to capture this pre-war, atom bomb baby in my mind. One thing I do have to thank the Institute for is my memory. That even if I never see her again. I won’t forget her face. 

“Can I take a name for the file?”

“Oh yes, of course, Vanessa Camilla Everly.”

“Maiden name?” 

I asked it before I could stop myself. She turns her face back to me. Those steely eyes are sad, I hope to a higher power she doesn’t start to cry because I don’t think I’m a strong enough man to stop myself from taking her in my arms.

“Yes. Nathaniel, uh, Mr French is…Gone. And I stopped using his name before that happened.”

How long before, Vanessa? And does it have anything to do with how close you and old Nick got. The expression her face curls into confirms my suspicions that yes, it does. 

You tell us your story. And I barely stop myself from reaching out to you as the tears spill out onto your cheeks. But you’re still smiling, Vanessa Camilla Everly. And I’ve decided that I don’t want to ever see you stop. 

Well Nicky, you’re not getting out of this one.

  
  
  



End file.
